Magnetic holder for an object

ABSTRACT

An object having a ferromagnetic part is supported by a holder having a stand and a permanent magnet carried on the stand. The magnet is set at such a height that by attraction of the ferromagnetic part by the magnet the object is held in a generally upright position underneath the magnet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a holder for an object having a ferromagnetic part. More particularly this invention concerns a magnetic holder for such an object, e.g. a ballpoint pen, that is small and used in an office.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such a magnet holder is known in the prior art. The holder of DE 20 2004 016 497, for example, has enjoyed great popularity for kitchen and bath use. This holder essentially comprises a magnetic rail that is screwed to a wall. Objects that are likewise made of a magnetizable material, in particular soap-dish holders or toothbrush cups, may be affixed to the magnetic rail. In the kitchen the magnetic rails are used as holders, for example for pots, spatulas, knives, or similar ferromagnetic articles.

Storage possibilities that make use of magnets are also known for office articles. AT 268 198 describes a container having a magnetic ring element used for storing paper clips. The container is designed in such a way that a ring-shaped permanent magnet is situated at the upper edge of the container, below the rim. A number of paper clips are stored within the container. When a paper clip located at the top opening of the container is withdrawn, as the result of the magnetic force of attraction the next paper clip slides up, so that at least one paper clip is always within reach.

Beside the practical use for magnetic holders, there is frequently a need for holders for office articles in particular to have an attractive appearance. DE 202 19 083, for example, describes a device for holding a writing instrument, the device being composed of multiple wires and wooden balls such that the device looks like a small man carrying the pen in his arm.

A further holder for pens is described in DE 202 13 951. This device essentially comprises a base and a holding arm projecting practically perpendicularly therefrom. The pen may be placed upright in the holding arm by inserting the tip of the pen into a small recess. An important feature is that the inside of the handle is lined with a plush material, thereby preventing scratch marks on the pen.

Magnets also have a particular fascination in toys or works of art, since due to the magnetic attraction or repulsion, effects or configurations may be achieved that appear to defy gravity.

A magnetic suspension device having mechanical stabilization system is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,138, in which at least one object is suspended above at least one lower body at a height at which the weight of the object is overcome by an magnetic repulsion acting between the lower body and the object suspended thereabove, and the position of the suspended object is stabilized at least by a mechanical tensile force that is transmitted downward from the suspended object to the lower body via at least one thin, elongated structure, for example a thread.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved magnetic holder for an object.

Another object is the provision of such an improved magnetic holder for an object that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that is suitable for storing office articles of various sizes and lengths, it being possible for pens or other articles containing ferromagnetic components to be suspended and thus supported at a spacing from the holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object having a ferromagnetic part is supported by a holder having a stand and a permanent magnet carried on the stand. The magnet is set at such a height that by attraction of the ferromagnetic part by the magnet the object is held in a generally upright position underneath the magnet.

Thus the holder according to the invention is characterized by a stand composed at least partially of ferromagnetic components, so that permanent magnets may be mounted on the stand at any given height in such a way that the objects may be detachably connected at a spacing from or in contact with one another.

In contrast to the prior art, by means of the present invention elongated ferromagnetic objects such as ballpoint pens, for example, may be suspended and supported essentially vertically by use of a permanent magnet. This suspended state is achieved by establishing a force equilibrium between the magnetic force of attraction and the force of gravity. The magnetic force depends primarily on the spacing between the permanent magnet and the object. The possibility of mounting the permanent magnet at various heights on the stand allows objects of different lengths and weights to be held up. One advantage of the holder according to the invention, for example, is that unwanted scratch marks, which are mentioned in above-cited DE 202 13 951, are avoided due to the suspended state of the objects, which does not even touch the magnet when the magnet is so high as to stay out of contact with the object. In addition, the holder according to the invention has an attractive design.

The stand is preferably formed from at least two ferromagnetic longitudinal bodies in particular having a sickle shape that, standing on a base, are detachably connectable in a freely selectable configuration by means of a connecting element. These longitudinal bodies may be easily displaced relative to one another, so that new object configurations are produced relatively easily.

According to one refinement of the invention, the permanent magnets have a spheroidal, preferably spherical, shape. This shape allows the permanent magnets to easily and freely rotate about their midpoints for alignment of the magnetic poles.

The base has multiple recesses, preferably holes or grooves, thereby providing insertion points at various intervals on the base for the previously mentioned longitudinal bodies. These recesses are deep enough to hold the bars upright without falling over, but they receive the lower ends of the bars loosely enough that the bars can be moved around to make different shapes as the mood takes the owner of the device.

Either a permanent magnet or a clip having a spoon-shaped seat at one (free) end of which a permanent magnet, preferably a sphere, may be inserted with a precise fit so as to be rotatable, may be used as a connecting element for the ferromagnetic components. In this design variant the relative positions of the bars relative to each other are fixed in place by the clip, which at the same time is a holder for a permanent magnet that may be oriented by rotation in the disk provided, without shifting the position, in such a way that either a magnetic attraction or a magnetic repulsion acts on the ferromagnetic bodies. In this manner the magnetic spheres may be mounted and aligned at the desired height so that beneath these spheres a pen, for example, having a ferromagnetic upper part is held in a “vertically floating” manner by the magnetic force of attraction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, it being understood that any feature described with reference to one embodiment of the invention can be used where possible with any other embodiment and that reference numerals or letters not specifically mentioned with reference to one figure but identical to those of another refer to structure that is functionally if not structurally identical. In the accompanying drawing:

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are perspective views of a base having holes and a base having grooves;

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show a holder in two different configurations;

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show a holder for a pen in a side view and in a front view; and

FIG. 4 shows a holder for a pen, paper clips, and a ruler.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

As seen in FIG. 2 a and 2 b a holder or stand according to the invention has sickle-shaped elongated bars 21 of profiled section and each fitted at one tip or end into a hole 12 or into a groove 13 of a base 11 shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. Possible designs of the base 11, which preferably has a parallelopipedal shape, are illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, the base 11 in FIG. 1 a having an array of upwardly open blind holes 12, and in FIG. 1 b having an array of parallel upwardly open shallow grooves 13. To provide stability for the vertical support, the two elongated bars 21 engage a permanent magnet element 22. In the present embodiment the permanent magnet 22 has a spherical shape, that is it is a ball.

Any number of configurations may be achieved by inserting the sickle-shaped elongated bars 21 into different holes 12 or different grooves 13. The spherical shape of the permanent magnet 22 has the advantage that the permanent magnet may be used as a connecting piece for the elongated bars in any given configuration, since the longitudinal bodies 21 always make tangential contact with the permanent magnet 22. Of course, the elongated bars 21 may also have other shapes. Thus, for example, the elongated bars 21 could also have an undulating or straight shape, not necessarily the circular arc shown here. The shape of the holder illustrated in FIG. 2 a or 2 b may be used, for example, as a holder for paper clips 41.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate a further design of the holder according to the invention seen from different angles. At their intersection, that is where they cross, the sickle-shaped bars 21 are clipped together by a clip 31 to form a stable vertical support. The clip 31 has a spoon-shaped seat 34 at one of its open ends that is shaped so that it can accommodate a spherical permanent magnet 22 with a precise fit, in other words the seat 34 is complementary to the ball magnet 22. By use of such a configuration, elongated ferromagnetic objects such as a ballpoint pen 43 or a ruler 42, for example, may be supported essentially vertically and at a spacing 33 from the holder. The magnetic attraction between the ball magnet 22 and the end of the pen 32 or ruler 42 is enough to hold the pen 32 or ruler 42 upright, but not enough to lift it off the surface supporting it. The ruler 42 is made of steel and the pen 32 has a rear-end part 35 that is ferromagnetic, while the rest of the pen is not magnetically attractable, normally made of plastic. When as shown in FIG. 3 a and 3 b the magnet 22 is at a height greater than the length of the pen 32 from the base 11 or from a surface S engaged by a lower face of the base 11, the pen 32 will be held generally upright, seemingly balanced on its front end or tip, even when not perfectly vertical for a seemingly magical effect.

The advantage of the spherical shape of the permanent magnet 22 is that it can rotated freely within the seat 34 in the clip 31, so that the orientation of the magnetic field may be freely selected. An intensified force of attraction between the permanent magnet element 22 and the upper tip of the illustrated pen 32 may be achieved when the upper tip itself is composed of a permanent magnet, in particular a cylindrical or flat permanent magnet with rounded edges. In such a case, a stable positioning of the pen may be achieved at even greater spacings from the permanent magnet element 22. Various objects may be simultaneously supported by mounting multiple permanent magnet elements 22 on the holder. One embodiment of such a configuration is illustrated in FIG. 4. 

1. In combination with an object having a ferromagnetic part, a holder comprising: a stand; and a permanent magnet carried on the stand at a height such that by attraction of the ferromagnetic part by the magnet the object is held in a generally upright position underneath the magnet.
 2. The holder defined in claim 1 wherein the stand includes: two elongated ferromagnetic bars, and a base in which the bars can be seated.
 3. The holder defined in claim 2 wherein the permanent magnet is generally spherical.
 4. The holder defined in claim 2 wherein the base is formed with a plurality of upwardly open recesses in which ends of the bars can engage.
 5. The holder defined in claim 4 wherein the recesses are an array of upwardly open blind holes.
 6. The holder defined in claim 4 wherein the recess are an array of upwardly open generally parallel grooves.
 7. The holder defined in claim 4, further comprising a clip holding together the bars at a crossing of the bars.
 8. The holder defined in claim 4 wherein the bars cross and the magnet is engaged with both of the bars generally where they cross.
 9. The holder defined in claim 1 wherein the object is elongated and has one end provided with the ferromagnetic part.
 10. The holder defined in claim 9 wherein the object is substantially nonmagnetically attractable except at the part.
 11. The holder defined in claim 10 wherein the magnet is spaced above a lower face of the base by a distance equal to more than a length of the object, whereby the object is maintained upright without contacting the magnet. 